


The Glasses

by willow_lark



Series: Stranger Things Underrated Pairings [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Drabble, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Post-Season/Series 01, Tragedy, Wordcount: 100-500
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:15:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26412496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willow_lark/pseuds/willow_lark
Summary: Nancy knows that it's not Mike's fault that his best friend returned from Hell and hers didn't. That doesn't make it any better.
Relationships: Will Byers & Nancy Wheeler
Series: Stranger Things Underrated Pairings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1919767
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	The Glasses

After the events of early November, Nancy slowly adjusts to school again. Her grades slip a little bit, but not by much, and she makes sure they slip no further. Sometimes she sits with Steve at lunch, who’s lost his popularity and prestige and is almost as friendless as she is. More often than not, though, she retreats to the library at lunch, as she always has, but can’t bring herself to sit in the corner she and Barb adopted as their own.

Nancy doesn’t see a lot of Will Byers. She sees Jonathan more often at school, and once Mike isn’t grounded anymore Will starts coming over more often again, but it’s the same as it’s always been. They do their own thing in the basement while Nancy does her homework in her room. She tries not to be jealous of Mike. It’s not his fault that his best friend returned and hers didn’t. 

One night, as Nancy is poring over an English essay, there’s a knock at her door. She glances at the clock—dinner was an hour ago. Maybe her mom needs her to entertain Holly for a little while as she makes sure Mike and his friends have everything they need for their sleepover tonight.

“Come in!” she calls, putting down her pencil. “It’s unlocked.”

The door creaks open, and it’s not Mom in the doorway, but Will. He’s holding a little baggie and wears an almost terrified expression. Typically when Mike’s friends come up to her room it’s just to offer pizza, not scrunch up their eyebrows in worry.

“Sorry,” Will says quickly. “I just—”

“What’s up?” Nancy leans back. God, he’s so small. All Mike’s friends are. Mike carries himself like he’s all grown up, and hates it when Nancy tells him just how young he is. She knows she’s young, too, but it’s much funnier to watch Mike go red with indignance. Nancy wonders if Will feels the same way as her brother.

“When. . . when I was in the—in the Upside Down, I found these. . . .” He offers the baggie. “I didn’t know who else to give them to.”  
Nancy’s chest tightens. She doesn’t want to think about what could be in it and why he would offer it to her.

She takes the baggie with a lead heart and hesitantly peeks inside:

A neatly folded pair of glasses, jagged cracks splitting one lens and a fine thin line across the other. They’ve been cleaned; they certainly weren’t in this condition in the Upside Down.

Nancy can’t breathe, but she shuts the bag and forces herself to inhale and push back the tears. Will is still awkwardly standing there, eyes worried.

“Thank you,” Nancy musters, and Will is gone, shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

She lifts up the glasses and looks at them in the light, envisioning the face on which they once perched.

Her tears make no sound as they fall.


End file.
